Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing‘s expanded three-car lineup is now complete, with Formula 2 standout Christian Lundgaard joining the team full-time for 2022. He will drive the No. 30 car, replacing veteran Takuma Sato.
The 20-year-old Dane dazzled in his IndyCar debut last season, qualifying fourth and finishing twelfth at the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix in August on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Now he joins back up with RLLR on a multi-year deal to race the full 17-race schedule next year.
“I was very much open minded when I raced at Indianapolis in August and the experience then only grew my hunger to give it another go, so to have the opportunity as a full-time professional racing driver is a privilege,” Lundgaard said.
“Of course, this will be a completely new challenge for me, especially with oval racing, which I’ve never done before. I’d like to think I’m a fast learner, so taking this on is going to be an awesome experience. For now, I’m not setting too many expectations other than working hard and enjoying the racing and hopefully the results will follow.”
Team co-owner Bobby Rahal, like most fans, was stunned by Lundgaard’s performance in Indianapolis, compounded further by the fact that Lundgaard was not at his best during the race.
“Some may not know, but he had food poisoning so he wasn’t feeling 100 percent that day and yet to have the kind of weekend we had was great,” Rahal said.
“I look forward to a long relationship with Christian. He’s a great young man who fit well with the team immediately and we are all excited about what we can do together.”
Lundgaard isn’t the only new face in the RLLR camp, joining Jack Harvey as a new face on the team along with the ever-present Graham Rahal. Team co-owner Mike Lanigan believes this lineup could be one to watch in IndyCar next season.
“With our current line up with Graham and Jack, I believe the addition of Christian will take our team to the next level in competing for a championship,” he said.
Lundgaard’s full-time IndyCar career is set to begin on 27 February 2022 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, but he will first finish off the F2 season with ART Grand Prix in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 2-4 December and Yas Marina, United Arab Emirates on 9-11 December.
